Properties worth ₹89.19 crore belonging to S Jagathrakshakan an MP from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Jagathrakshakan and his family members had acquired foreign securities in a Singapore based company in violation of Section 4 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
During the UPA regime, Jagathrakshakan was a Minister of State for Commerce and Industry under the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Jagathrakshakan is a sitting Member of Parliament elected from Arakkonam Lok Sabha seat during the 2019 Lok General Elections. He is a businessman who gyrated towards politics and has won four times from the Arakkonam seat.
The ED has launched an investigation against Jagathrakshakan over charges of acquiring foreign securities by violating the provisions of FEMA.
Investigations revealed that on 15 June 2017, Jagathrakshakan and his son Sundeep Aanand had subscribed to 70,00,000 shares and 20,00,000 shares respectively (valued at Singapore $ 1/- per share) of Silver Park International Pte. Ltd., Singapore, without obtaining the approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
Jagathrakshakan has various business interests from oil refineries, educational institutions and Elite Distilleries Pvt Ltd which is owned by his family.
The DMK MP who controlled the Singapore company Silver Park International Pvt Ltd along with Oman Oil Ministry owned by India’s Accord Group had agreed to build a $3.9 billion, 200,000 barrel per day oil refinery next to the Chinese-controlled Hambantota port.
Three of the four directors in Silver Park International, which is registered with Singapore’s national regulator Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), are Jagathrakshakan Sundeep Anand (son), Jagathrakshakan Sri Nisha (daughter) and Jagathrakshakan Anusuya (wife).
The investigation into his mega oil refinery deal has also revealed that he has embarrassed the Sri Lankan government when reports emerged that Oman’s Oil Ministry denied being part of a $3.9 billion plan.
This is not the first time Jagathrakshakan‘s name had figured is a scam. Under the UPA regime, his name was prominent in the Coalgate scam which shook the then Manmohan Singh Government.